Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Magick
Generating Personal Heka
All living things are capable of generating the magickal force known as Heka. However, only a skilled group
can properly tap that force for their use. This is where Heka -generating K/S areas come into play; they allow
the HP, OP, EP, etc., to tap their own Heka as a source of power channeled into spell-like effects.
To calculate the personal Heka of a persona, the player simply takes the three Heka generating K/S of the
highest STEEP from his bundle, multiply they're combined STEEP by 2, and to this figure the combined total
of all other Heka generating K/S STEEP. For example, an alchemist persona would have the following
personal Heka:
Alchemy STEEP x 2, plus
Dweomercraeft STEEP x 2, plus
Magick STEEP x 2, plus
any other Heka-generating K/S STEEP
At the same time, a Physician Persona would generate personal Heka this way:
Herbalism STEEP x 2, plus
any other Heka-generating K/S STEEP.
It is important to note that only Heka-generating K/S recieved as part of the initial bundle, not from bonus
K/S, can receive the multiple. There are other modifiers possible, the most prominant one from Full Practice.
Full Practice
Note: There are some Vocations which are not permitted Full Practitioner status (such as the Theurgist) as it
is part of their character. Check the Vocation listing on page 1 under the status column to see whether or not
FP is allowed for the Vocation in question.
Dweomercraeft: Any HP possessing the dweomercraeft K/S and the Magick K/S can attempt to be a Full
Practitioner (FP ). They must possess both K/S from the start, either from their initial bundle or through
bonus K/S attributed upon the creation of their HP. In addition, the HPs Mental TRAIT must be at least 55.
If the HP meets these criteria, they may attempt for FP status. The HP must roll vs. his Dweomercraeft K/S x
0.5 (counting any bonuses afterward).
If the player succeeds, than he/she generates Heka at STEEP x 5 for the lower, Dweomercraeft or Magick,
rather than at 2.
Priestcraeft: Priest HPs may roll for FP status in the same manner as HPs possessing the
Dweomercraeft/Magick STEEP combination. In the priest's case, however, this is qualified by the possession
of both the Religion and Priestcraeft K/S Areas. Also, an HP MUST be of the Priest Vocation! Also, the
Spiritual TRAIT is the key for priest FP status.
It should be remembered that Partial Practitioner priests may latter try to make a Vow or, in special
circumstances, may enter the game with a vow.
Combat
Initiative Modifiers in Combat
The Physical TRAIT is intended to represent the many physical sides of the persona; sheer strength,, stamina,
dexterity and eye-hand coordination. And as such the Initiative modifier comes into play. Whereas
encumbeing armor and the like will remove the persona's ability to move around freely, there is that persona
natual agility to take into consideration.
The persona's Initiative modifier is roughly his/her (P TRAIT x 0.15) - 1, rounded down. This produces a
range of 9 to 2. A Persona with a P TRAIT of 70, the human maximum, will have -10 while one with a lowly
20 P would have a modifier of -2. This modifier is subtracted from the initial die roll before Speed Factor
penalties from armor or other notedly encumbrant equipment is taken into consideration.
Dodge Factor
STEEP
41-50
51-60
61-70
71-80
81-00
P TRAIT x 0.3
16
17
18
19
20
21
22+
Damage Bonus
+ 1
+ 2
+ 3
+ 4
+ 5
Dodge Factor
1 %
3 %
5 %
7 %
9 %
11 %
+2 % per point
modifier
- 7
- 5
0
+ 2
+ 5
+ 10
Through Hits
3
5
10
12
15
20
I think that's it for now. Tom said he may send more this way, but who can say? What I'd really like to do in
the future is include rules that will cover areas untouched (or touched poorly :)) in Mythus. I know I have
some interesting house rules, and I know you readers do--so send 'em in!
principles are 1) that all actions are committed in a setting, and will have consequences in that setting that are
not specified by the rules, and 2) That players are not simply statistics and ratings, they are people, and even
heroic people have feet of clay. Let me be more specific
Mages who have a bunch of time on their hands can be a problem. They immediately want to go into their
study and research 10 new ways to kill all their enemies and credit all their wealth to the HP's bank account
without even leaving the lab. Either that or they want to learn 20 spells a day for 20 days in a row. One
solution is to make up elaborate rules about spell research and learning. But there are other, complimentary
options, that can be used also, so that the rules are reasonable and flexible enough not to hobble your average
player, but enough to keep the power player under control. For players who you feel are spending an
unrealistic amount of time on arcane study: give them headaches. Hey, theoretically I could read Kant all day,
but I'd never make it without a massive headache at the end of the day, and doing it day after day would be
impossible. I'd lose my marbles. Give the mage who spends all his time studying new spells headaches and
backaches, and blurred vision. If they don't take the hint, mess up their vision permanently, make them
nearsighted. Why do you think so many academics have glasses? Ever hear of scholar's hump? Just because
the rules say a player can do something, doesn't mean you will be able to in these circumstances, or will want
to, and certainly doesn't mean there won't be consequences. Extremely driven people in any field pay a heavy
price in the rest of their life. This should be so in a Mythus world also.
Maybe the amount of APs you give out sneaks up on you, the Necromancer in your campaign gets his STEEP
up to 80, and can raise legions of undead under the rules. What to do? The way to prevent him from doing so
is not by the rules, but circumstances in the world. He's got to go find all these bodies lying around to raise.
Maybe he gets chased around by the cemetery-yard dog which wakes the local priests; maybe he finds that
the people in this area have their priests perform a ritual that prevents their loved ones corpses from ever
being animated. When he finally does get some animated, all his living servants run away; his horse won't go
within 1,000 yards of the undead; the keep where he lives begins to STINK; he starts to have nightmares
from hanging out with the dead all the time. There are hundred of "real world" problems that can be used to
curb players who are pushing the rule limits.
One particular instance of such a non-rule consequence I am about to institute in my campaign involves
casting major amounts of spells. When a character, especially a full practitioner with large amounts of heka,
uses most of their heka in a day, they are really tired. This doesn't affect actual adventuring much, because
they are all usually exhausted at the end of the day anyway. What is does effect is the mage who gets up in
the morning, wants to drop 1500 heka into her brand new super heka reservoir, then spend the rest of the day
researching new spells, and finally go out and party 'til midnight keeping up on current events and searching
for rumors about a certain mercenary she has a score to settle with. All these are allowed within the rules, and
on a single day where it was really important, might be possible (with a little help from a lot of coffee or
some Endurance heka). But there is no way this will go on for a week. Pushing out 1500 heka is going to
make you tired, like getting up and running 20 miles. Yeah, the full practitioner is better acclimated to doing
so, but that is why she is equivalently exhausted to the dabbler with only a 300 heka who uses up 250 in a
day. This also opens up the possibility that the character will end up using stimulants to reach that desired
performance level. Let them do it. This is how drug addictions can begin.
Another related problem is power player's putting all their APs into only a couple K/S areas, and so within a
few sessions you have people with a Combat, Hand Weapons of 98%. There was a new rule by Adam
Mortara in DI #2 about the cost of STEEP advancement that made alot of sense. But alone it may not
completely solve the problem. Some power players will continue to pour their APs into a couple K/S areas,
they just won't get as far ahead. If you want players to use their APs in a more realistic manner, make your
world require it of them. Make them roll against Mental and Physical Perception to see the bad guy in the
alley. They can't hit what they don't know is there. Have unarmed people get into bar fights with them. If they
pull a weapon, it's murder (or attempted murder). That will make them put some points in Combat, HTH,
Non-lethal (and maybe Law, also). Make them roll against their riding STEEP whenever they try and chase
someone on horseback. You can all think of these examples. The main point is that player's will put their APs
into the areas that they end up needing to roll against, and what they need to roll against is determined by
how you have the world interact with them. So make something besides weapons skills important. Make
characters want and NEED to be something other than a 1-dimensional sword-slinging thug.
In the campaign I play in right now, Influence, Etiquette & Social Graces, History, and the various language
skills are some of the most important K/S areas for the characters. A lot of us have put APs that could have
gone into combat skills into them. The situation you want your player's in is having too many K/S areas they
want to put APs into at the end of the adventure, and that comes from what you make them use.
Curbing the power player can be done very effectively by using rule modifications and by thinking outside of
the rules. Relying solely on rules can sometimes result in gaming sessions that sound much more like the
pretrial arguments in the Simpson case than people having fun. Use the rules when effective and necessary,
but also put yourself in that player's position and think about the problems you might have. The characters are
supposed to be heroic, but they are not gods. Not even Lancelot slept in his plate armor. As a JM, making
sure that the characters are aware that their feet are made of clay, and that their action will have consequences
may go a long way to curbing power player's excesses, or attempted excesses. I realize many other JMs are
aware of this strategy, but I thought I would write this because there still are a lot of people who are fixated
on the rules, and don't realize the power available from this more narrative aspect of the game. After all the
rules are just a device to help you and your players write/play out a story that is a surprise to everyone. Don't
let the rules take over from the story. Thanks for listening; any comments would be appreciated.
General Description
The Realm Knights are the closest thing Tora gets to a universal protector. They are one of the only organised
groups of warriors other than specific countries' armies. They are warriors of legend, champions in the
struggle between good and evil.
In Cordmarren culture, and indeed over most of Tora, the Realm Knight is a mighty hero, who is respected
and admired by the common folk (excepting, of course, the evil and criminal elements). The Realm Knight
has the good will of the Western Toran nations (Sylvanos, Rohar, Anthur, Bandar, and of course Cordmarre,
plus the other small lands). Indeed, the Realm Knight is often looked to to solve crimes, settle disputes, and
otherwise serve justice in the community he or she is visiting.
History
The history of the Realm Knights is well-documented in the historical archives in Shiva (the capitol of
Cordmarre). Their history is full of great heroes and even greater deeds, performed with the greatest of skill.
Rather than focus on individual stories (of which there are literally hundreds), this will simply deal with the
Realm Knights' history as an organization.
Formed by Gerran Talorsblade, the first King of the Third Kingdom of Cordmarre (see The History of
Cordmarre for more details on that nation), at the end of the Black Age, the Realm Knights are currently just
over 500 years old, yet still remain a small, select force. The Realm Knights were organized for the purpose
they serve today--to protect the weak and innocent from the forces which threatened (and still do) to tear
apart the fledgling nation. The Knights organization was designed for the best of warriors, although today
select members of other vocations have been given honorary Realm Knight status.
The Realm Knights are commanded by the Lord High Preceptor, who commands from the Kingshome of the
Knights in Shiva. Gerran Talorsblade was the first of the Lord High Preceptors, and currently the leader of
the Realm Knights is an old Marrean cavalier named Genned.
In many of the larger Toran cities, the Realm Knights maintain Knighthomes, or Knightholds. Each
Knighthome has a leader, titled Preceptor, who is in command of any Knights currently in that particular city
(excluding certain knights, but the ranks and order will be detailed later...). The Knighthomes are a place for
travelling Realm Knights to stay, and are very useful for organization.
Over the past few centuries, the Realm Knights have been involved in almost every major battle with evil.
Heroes, who happen to be Realm Knights are common in many tales. Occasionally, however, a Realm Knight
will "go bad," but these renegades are usually hunted down by other Knights.
The Realm Knights have always been an elite group, and their numbers reflect this philosophy. There have
never been more than 5000 members, and the number is usually half that.
Social Customs
The Realm Knights, as stated above, are respected throughout Tora. Often they are seen attending the courts
of various national governments (particularly in Cordmarre, not surprisingly). They are taught etiquette for
most situations (although some Knights choose to ignore that particular skill). Most Realm Knights take
advantage of their position to "hobnob" with the aristocracy. Some Knights actually dislike the higher social
classes, and instead live amongst the peasants. These are the Knights who are most respected (by the general
populace, anyway).
The Knights realize that they are the protectors of Tora, and they enjoy their job. Most strive for glory, and
try to do the most heroic thing possible (which may also account for their numbers never growing very
large...). Some people find this philosophy unintelligent, but many a plot to overthrow local governments has
been foiled by the Knights.
There is no common language spoken by the Knights, but most know a decent amount of Low Toran. What is
common, however, is a simplistic form of sign language. The signs are inconspicuous so that two Realm
Knights can communicate without someone else even realizing that there is another conversation going on.
What their signs cannot do, however, is convey anthing too complicated--it is meant to communicate during
battle, when hearing is not always possible.
Religion
Obviously (or not...), Talor is the most commonly worshipped god amongst the Knights. Many other
religions are seen, as there is no official religion which all Realm Knights must adhere to. The only other
commonly worshipped goddess is Fortuna. Of course, almost any other deity could be found to be
worshipped by the Knights, but the Dark Lords and Chaos Gods are mostly fought against, not prayed to.
Kriig Spider
Identifier: Monster, arachnoid
Habitat: AErth, exterior
Size: Human-sized
Number Appearing: 1d3
Modes & Rates of Movement:
Crawl: 125 yds/BT
Scurry: 250 yds/BT
Initiative Modifiers: Human Standard
Joss Factors: 0
Dodging/Avoidance: 4%/10, 35
Attractiveness: 0
Average Armor Protection: 4
Quirks: None
Attacks
BAC
Type
Base
Bonus
Claw (x2)
48
P/C
2d3
9
Tongue barb*
65
P
1d3**
9
* If used on a held victim, this attack ignores armor.
** plus blood loss for 3d3 damage each round until removed.
Powers:
Extreme Attractiveness (dazing, "easy"/fleeing, "easy")
Web Net
Area of Effect: 2 yards
Delivered by: Gesture
Range: N/A
Time: 1 AT
Duration: until destroyed
Frequency: at will
Description: This power is similar to the CG V Dweomercaeeft Casting, Invisible Chains Charm. It appears
as aa thick, silken net with a slight blueish glow, though this glow will not give away the position of a hidden
Kriig.
Hypaeaesthesia (dark vision: sees equally well in light and darkness)
Shadow cloaking, self
Area of Effect: self
Delivered by: thought
Range: N/A
Time: 1 CT
Duration: until removed
Frequency: at will
Description: The Kriig Spider is nearly totally undetectable in shadows. Detection DRs are at +2, while its
suprise attempts are at -1 DR. Furthermore, it has an effective Ambushing K/S of 45, allowing it to attempt
Total Suprise.
Statistical Detail:
P: 125
WL: 93 CL:
PM:
65 PN:
PMCap: 35 PNCap:
PMPow: 15 PNPow:
PMSpd: 15 PNSpd:
113
60
25
15
20
Armor Scheme:
Area
Ultra Vital
Super Vital
Vital
Non Vital
Average
Pierce
12
10
6
2
7
Cut
12
10
6
2
7
Blunt
12
10
6
2
7
Fire
-
Chem
-
Stun
12
10
6
2
7
Elec.
-
Commentary & Description: No one is truly sure of the origins of the Kriig spider. Some sages would
speculate that they are the result of some bizarre magickal experiment, or perhaps they are the result of
indigenous breeding with some extra-planar fiend. Regardless of their origin, there can be no doubt of their
malign behavior. Though they are not truly intelligent, or no more so than another insect, they are cunning in
the extreme and act with a certain sense of inherent evil. They often reside in shallow caverns or abandon
ruins. They do not appear to be territorial though they have proved to be cannibalistic.
They do not spin webs as many other surface dwelling spider, but rather conceal themselves in tight crevices.
Other than these facts, the ecology of the Kriig is virtually unknown.
Kriigs are horrid in appearance; they have a vaguely arachnid body, covered with coarse black, wiry hairs,
much like that of the tarantula. They have a pasty-white, bloated humanoid face covered with 6 spider-like
eyes that can see quite well in any light condition. From the mouth of this head protrudes a long fleshy
tongue, tipped in a nasty barb. The Kriig attaches this tongue to and from it sucks the blood of its prey. The
front two legs are reverse to point upright, and are scythe-like in appearance. The Kriig uses these forelegs to
fight in close quarters.
The Kriig traps it prey by spinning a magickally strong web "net", which it holds over its hiding spot with its
forelegs. When prey passes beneath it drops the net, which can easily tangle and hold a thing twice the size of
any man. From here, the Kriig falls upon its prey and attaches its vile tongue and begins to feed. It the victim
is still capable of resisting, the Kriig attacks it with its forelegs. In such a case, the Kriig strikes at twice its
BAC (96). These creatures are fearless, and will often attack individuals within a large group, fending off the
others with its forelegs while it feeds from the trapped victim.
following Sub-Areas by 10 STEEP points: Anticipation, Detecting, Noticing, Searching and Understanding.
A limitation, for those who want one is to say that it will only function when the HP is concentrating on the
ability. Otherwise, it will remain dormant.
Hearrings: These wonderfully jewelled earrings actually increase the wearer's ability to hear things, thus
increasing his or her STEEP in Perception, Physical (Hearing) by 10 points. It may also allow the wearer to
concentrate on one sound source, to the point where it will deaden all other noise for that person so he can
hear the particular sound. This works well when there is a lot of noise and the persona wants to listen in on a
conversation on the other side of the tavern. This second ability would require a DR roll against Hearing,
depending on the amount of extraneous noise.
I hope this at least gives you all ideas for future items. If so, take about 2 minutes and type one in and send it
to me! :)
Heka-Forging
Before the Great Crash of September, there was a lot of talk on Mythus-L about the Heka-Forging K/S.
People wanted more and better info about the K/S Area, and wanted to know how other people were roleplaying it. Now, what I'm doing here is a group project. I have included a few of the many questions posed on
Mythus-L regarding this subject. What I would like is for everyone reading this to answer some or all of these
questions, and send in all the answers to me.
The end result of this will be an issue of Dangerous Ideas devoted to Heka Forging. In the best case scenario,
we will be able to re-write the K/S Area, making it more complete, coherent and clear. This really needs to be
done, in my view, as Heka-Forging can be one of the best K/S Areas in the game, as well as one of the most
unique. So, here's what I have at the moment...
From: BluSponge@AOL.COM
1. What equipment is nessecary to accomplish the tasks? Do I need a simple forge or what?
2. Do the "sub-areas" reflect the Castings acquired at that STEEP/Grade, or are they completely seperate
activities that may be accomplishd without the help of Castings?
3. How do you roleplay it???? This is the main reason I have removed this K/S from the lists for my
Prime game despite complaints from a few of my players. The description of Heka-forging doesn't
contain enough meat to ham up or even describe in detail. If I had more insight into the activities of the
Heka-forger, I might have less of a problem with this K/S.
From: Edward Bromley
1. The discussion on heka reservoirs (MM15-17) appears to indicate that they can be created by an HP
with dweomercraft alone and without the use of specific spells (see particularly the discussion on
gylphs). The third HF sub-area also lists the creation of heka reservoirs. Does this mean that you can
use either (or both) dweomercraft and HF to create reservoirs? How do you determine how a reservoir
is disjoined/dispelled when it is created by skill and not a specific spell?
2. The description of the Permanence Ritual casting states that it creates a Resistance to any dispelling
under 250 heka points, but that "heka added by the attacking practitioner to overcome Resistance will
count towards this level." Does this mean that the Grade I casting Disjunction Charm can be used to
dispel a magic item that has been made permanent (if cast by a practitioner with a sufficiently high
STEEP)? This leads to many questions regarding heka forging, such as how does a HP with a STEEP
of 51 (MY167) create magical armor without the use of Permanence if it may be dispelled just like any
other casting? Yes, I've asked this question before, but nobody had any ideas at the time so I'm asking
again!
3. What is the effect of different materia(ls) on HF castings? For example, if you cast an Attack Bonus II
Formula on a steel sword is this any different from casting it on a mithral or adamantite sword?
Perhaps steel would accept only an Attack Bonus I Formula and mithral would accept up to Attack
Bonus III (or higher!) Formula.
4. What is the effect of multiple items with various Defense Bonus castings on them? For instance, if an
HP finds a helm (US AP Cat.) with Defense Bonus I Formula on it, and greaves (N AP Cat.) with a
Defense Bonus II Formula on it does the character have 15 total points of bonus armor? or simply 10?
Or does the character get a 5 point bonus to the US AP Categories and a 10 point bonus to the N AP
Categories?
5. An example of HF in each of the sub-areas (MY167) would be a great help for players and JMs alike!
From: John Teske (via gullerud@leland.Stanford.EDU )
1. Do Heka-Forging subareas require 10 APs and 10 weeks of study to acquire, as per DJ p. 135, bottom
of column 1?
2. What particular subareas and spells would be required to make items falling under each subarea,
particularily detection/information items, armor, and weapons? A wand with aural sight (Grade 3
Fortune Telling Cantrip), and amulet of aura of awareness (Grade 9 Divination Ritual) were mentioned
as possible examples for information items.
3. What is the difference in spells and cost necessary to create an item with a continuous effect, and one
which requires an expenditure of heka to activate?
(Examples:
Sword with continuous +5 BAC, and sword with +5 BAC after HP spends 50 heka.
Ring of 15 points armor vs. physical damage, and one which requires 150 heka to activate
temporarily.)
4. On what sort of items is the Permanence casting necessary for successful creation? Is it necessary for
armor or weapons? Wands?
5. What spells, costs, and skills are necessary to create an item which has a limited number of uses before
becoming useless?
So, anyway, I have a feeling that what we ought to do is re-create the whole Heka-Forging K/S. Maybe we
can leave the Sub-Areas the way they are, maybe not. I'd also really like to come up with some really logical,
coherent (blame this on Anaxamenes and EPB3 @AOL.com!!), and sensible rules for the creation of
magickal items. As an aside, a way to determine how much they're worth would be nice, too...
I'll be taking everything that people send me, and put it all together, then put it all out as a special D.I. issue,
hopefully number 5 or 6!